Giants vs. Lions NFL Week 16: TV Schedule, Betting Lines, Prediction

By Connor Muldowney

Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

TV Schedule: Sunday, Dec. 22, 4:05 p.m. ET, FOX

Stadium: Ford Field

Weather: High 45, Low 22

Line: Detroit (-9.5)

Having a tough season for a former Super Bowl-contending team, the New York Giants won’t be challenging for a Super Bowl any time soon, but they have enough talent to make a much better team in one year’s time. Eli Manning is having a season that he would soon like to forget, passing for 3,410 yards and 16 touchdowns while throwing a remarkable 25 interceptions. Victor Cruz is the leading receiver on the team — no surprise there — but he is also being shut down for the season after catching 73 passes for 998 yards and four touchdowns. Andre Brown leads the run game with 441 yards and three touchdowns on four yards per carry.

After being just a few wins away from locking up a playoff spot and a division title, the Detroit Lions scuffled a bit and have found themselves on the outside of the playoff race looking in. Matthew Stafford has struggled a bit in late-game situations even though he leads the third-ranked passing offense with 4,211 yards and 28 touchdowns while hitting Calvin Johnson more often than not. Johnson is second in the league in receiving yards with 1,449 yards and 12 touchdowns while running back Reggie Bush is third on the team in receiving with 47 catches for 463 yards and two touchdowns. Bush also leads the team in rushing with 940 yards and four touchdowns on 4.8 yards per carry.

Defensively, the Lions have not been very impressive this season. Detroit ranks 16th in both points allowed and total yards allowed per contest while also ranking 23rd in passing yards allowed and fourth in the league in rushing yards allowed per game. New York has not been much better on defense, ranking 20th in points allowed and 10th in total yards allowed per game.

Connor Muldowney is a columnist for RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Connormuldowney, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google. You can also reach him at connor.muldowney@rantsports.com.